Page 45 of Tempt

Hepyn doesn’t really react. ‘Zinni was…kind to me. He offered me friendship, protection, and shared his rations when the guards weren’t looking.’ His eyes glaze over for a moment as he remembers. ‘Eventually, when he knew he could trust me, he shared his plan to escape and asked me to come with him.’

My eyes blink at him. ‘And obviously you said yes.’

He grins, and I see his shoulders move in what I assume is a small laugh. ‘Yes. With some convincing. He had to drag me from the mines, with great risk to his own life. But he found access to a portal that led to Earth, and he knew the Vyastil wouldn’t chase us here. They believe a fate with the humans is worse than a fate in the mines.’

That hits me like a blow to the chest. That’s why they let Cielo go. That’s why his sentence was banishment. It’s hilarious only because I’ve seen Cielo. He’s healing. He’s thriving. And he and my brother are definitely falling in love.

‘Do you hate it here?’ I can’t help but ask.

His face does something complicated, then he twitches his nose. ‘No. Humans are…strange and confusing sometimes. I’m not sure if I’ll last long. I don’t think Vorthex are meant to live outside of our skies.’ His shoulders twitch for a second, reminding me of a bird ruffling their wings—but he doesn’t have wings. ‘I will live as long as I can here, and you have been kind. I am lucky to know you.’

Something in my chest burns, and my eyes start to water. I’ve been feeling so fucking rejected by Eissa lately, and watching my brother fall for someone when I have no one at all…

The words he just gave me—watching them on his hands and seeing the honesty in his expression—I hadn’t realized how much I needed it before now.

I touch both hands to my chin. ‘Thank you. This makes me feel a lot less…alone.’

Hepyn nods, acknowledging a shared pain we have, and then reaches out and touches my hand. It’s only for a moment, but I feel the coolness of his scaly skin and a small tremble beneath it.

‘Thank you for always being kind to me. Now, do not drink that poison anymore. Humans are fragile, and I do not want to see you injured. The herb I gave you is rare, and I cannot spare it every time you are upset.’

I huff, and he sits back.

‘I’ll try not to act like that again.’

He nods his appreciation.

I don’t tell him that it’s a Vyastil’s fault, Eissa in particular. Instead, I wait for Hepyn to stand and follow him to the door.

He doesn’t look back or say goodbye. My Deaf side revolts, but I hold the snarky comment back and let him disappear outside.

Then I sink against the wall and place my head in my hands.

nine

EISSA

It’s the strangest sensation, but since returning from Vegas, Erethar does not feel like home anymore. It will always be the place where I am from. It gave birth to my people. It is our universe. We were made for our air, our skies, our moons, our sun.

But when I’m here now, it feels like half of me is missing, and I can no longer pretend I don’t understand why.

Pressing my hand to the cool stone, I stare out the window at the rolling hills. I see specks moving in the distance—Vyastil condemned to work the fields. They’re the ones with lesser sentences who will eventually rejoin society, although the scars of hard labor will linger for many moon cycles. My eyes flick to the horizon, toward the border of the Outerlands and the entrance to the mines.

Most Vyastil who are sent beneath will never see our moons again. My heart aches for them, and it’s one more thing I wish to change because the cruelty is unwarranted. A single flaw—a single imperfection—and I could be removed from my standing.

Which may happen even now.

Those scars on my body were left on purpose. To remind me that if anyone sees…if anyone finds out, it could be the end of my comfortable life on Erethar. They wanted me to remember how close I am to ruin.

And Luca just complicates it.

The incident at the gym would have been glossed over if I attempted to paint it as a human who caused me offense. But should the council learn that the reason I put claws on a stranger was that he was touching a human that was mine, I would be standing before them fighting to retain my title.

There is a rut on the horizon, and while I have had only two—both unfulfilled—this next one will be well within the breeding cycle. It will be my duty to find, mount, and fill a female’s egg with my seed. We will fertilize the next generation of Vyastil, and then my duty to my people will be over.

But I know this will not happen. Even if I wished to pretend my Luca didn’t exist—that he is dead or missing—it wouldn’t matter. I am bonded to him. His mind and mine are the same now. My VySytheh.

My beloved.